With Samara, Poas volcano, and LaPaz Waterfall crossed off our bucket list, Jim and I turned our attention to the country’s most recently active volcano, Arenal.

Armed with a recommendation about lodging from Magda Correles, our landlord-lady, we made reservations at San Bosco Hotel in LaFortuna.

We left Atenas on Thursday morning, after depositing Heidi with our friends Frances and Bruce Jones, and headed toward our destination, following directions that a friend had suggested would be a shorter route.

Well, short for some, for us meant steep, twisting, and treacherous, as demonstrated by an upturned SUV off the side of one of these “peligroso” curves. We did manage to stay on the road and made it to the “autopista general” which provided a much more tranquil driving environment.

The route through Naranjo was supposed to be quick and easy, except for the fact that Jim and I have difficulty maneuvering through towns where “NO HAY PASO” seems to be on every corner. After retracing our path a few times and asking, “Esta es la via a La Fortuna?” we finally made is to our hotel.

San Bosco is a lovely place with comfortable rooms, nice people and good breakfasts. Jim had actually stayed here years before when it had just five-units – that was in the ’70’s. It has grown since then!

Having had experience here before, Jim wanted to drive out to the dam that created Lake Arenal that afternoon. Later in the evening, after dark, we would repeat that drive, only this time driving very slowly and hoping that there would be little traffic.

This is what “herpers,” those interested in reptiles call “road cruising,” riding the roads hoping to spot snakes as they make their way across the roads at night. For Jim this road cruise was both good and bad.

We arrived on the scene maybe a minute of two after a very large snake had been struck by a vehicle coming from the opposite direction. When Jim got out of the car, he saw that it was a species (Clelia clelia) he had been looking for ever since first coming to Costa Rica in 1973.

Saddened that the snake was dying, he removed the approximately 10 foot creature from the road. It was the longest snake he had even encountered in the wild. (Jim’s hobby is herpetology, and I will be telling his story in a later article.)

Friday would be our only day to see and do things. We began with a trip to La Fortuna Waterfall. You never know what kind of challenge your will meet on your journey, and this was a real challenge. It involved a hike down 480 steps – 600 meters or over 1800 feet – to a pool where the waterfall plunged, sending ripples and rainbows everywhere. It was magnificent.

The pool offered a refreshing swim to those who chose to do so – Jim did. While the climb was not easy for seniors like myself, it was very well constructed and maintained, with heavy chains as rails which I made full use of as I pulled my way back up those 480 steps to the top.

Because we had only the one day the “do our thing”, we also booked an afternoon tour around the base of the volcano, ending up at Baldi Hot Springs. The springs were great, but unfortunately I had overshot my endurance level for one day, and became dehydrated in the Springs. We were unable to complete our tour.

As has been our experience on our “journey,” it’s the people we have met along the way that make it so memorable. Our next door neighbors in the hotel was a couple from Chicago. Simch enjoyed a horseback ride to the waterfall where we saw her again, and her husband Steve who went white-water rafting.

Also at our hotel and on our Arenal tour were Mercedes, a lovely Argentinian woman and her daughter Marina. Ironically, Mercedes, a Spanish speaker, was a retired Spanish teacher, as I, an English speaker, am a retired English teacher. What a world we live in!

It is said that travel is an education. We learn to accept challenges that we meet, to progress beyond our experiential boundaries, to open our minds to whatever our journey presents, and for us it’s Pura Vida in Costa Rica.

Written by VIP Member Anne Harper who is a retired English teacher, having taught high school English for 33 years. Anne was not a well-travelled person, or at least until Jim Kavney came into her life. After they both lost their spouses 8 years ago, they met and began a relationship which has enabled her to meet and fall in love with the people and the country of Costa Rica, which was already in Jim’s heart. Their stays have extended from weeks to months, and this year, for the second time, they will be spending 4 months in Atenas.

Anne and Jim love the Central Valley with its small towns and local personality. With Atenas as their headquarters, they are visiting and exploring many of Costa Rica’s wonderful and exciting places. Jim and Anne divide their time between their homes in Florida and Costa Rica. Anne confesses that her horizons have been broadened and her awareness of the world heightened by her visits to this amazing country – the land, the native people and the cross-section of ex-pats from all over the world.

She never knows what language will be spoken at the table next to them when they go out to eat. When Anne says: “It isn’t the destination; it’s the journey,” she is referring to her continuing journey during which she sees amazing places and meets amazing people….and her world continues to expand

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The AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) ranks Atenas as one of “The Best Places to Retire Abroad.” For more information about homes and land for sale in the area please contact our Recommended Realtors in Atenas Dennis Easters and Gerardo Gonzalez-Porras using the simple form below:

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.